Another ATSC 3.0/NEXTGEN TV Lighthouse Is Launching in Miami, FL

Key Takeaways:

→Berkshire Hathaway’s Only TV Station Will Transition To ATSC 3.0

→WSVN Will Be Sunbeam Television’s First ATSC 3.0 Channel

Miami is getting 2 new ATSC 3.0 channels on December 4, 2023. The channels transitioning are WPLG (ABC), operated by Berkshire Hathaway, and WSVN (FOX), operated by Sunbeam Television. WPLG will act as the ATSC 3.0 Lighthouse for WPLG (ABC) and WSVN (FOX). Because this lighthouse will only have 2 channels, I’m hoping the signal will be implemented with a robust modulation and code rate, or for an implementation with a dual robust layer and less robust layer.

Berkshire Hathaway is an A3SA Licensee which means there is a good chance Berkshire Hathaway will implement DRM encryption on their ATSC 3.0 channel. Sunbeam Television is not an A3SA Licensee, so I don’t believe WSVN will have DRM encryption on their ATSC 3.0 channel. This is good news considering all 4 ATSC 3.0 channels on WTVJ have DRM encryption.

With the addition of WPLG, there will be 3 ATSC 3.0 stations in the Magic City:

Lo-VHF:

RF Channel 6: WEYS-LD

Hi-VHF:

RF Channel 10: WPLG

UHF:

RF Channel 31: WTVJ

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.